BattleTech (2018)

BattleTech

Information

Developer(s)

Harebrained Schemes

Publisher(s)

Paradox Interactive

Composer(s)

Jon Everist

Engine

Unity

Series

BattleTech

Platform

MS WindowsOS XLinux

Released

April 24, 2018

Modes

Single-player

Genre(s)

Turn-based Strategy

BattleTech is a turn-baseda strategy video game developed by Hairbrained Schemes and published by Paradox Interactive. It was released for Steam on April 24, 2018 and runs on the Unity engine. The game was supported on Kickstarter in October 2015 where it received over $2.7 million thanks to over 42.7k backers. The funding allowed the developers to finish the game and add additional content including a single-player campaign.

Contents

BattleTech shares it's world with the original 1984 tabletop game of the same name.
The game takes place in 3025 during the Succession Wars Era. The location is the Aurigan Reach, ruled by the Aurigan Coalition. After years of fighting between the noble houses the once mighty BattleMech armies have been reduced to only a few Mechs and their warriors. While the game takes place in the same era as the original game, the location of The Reach was specifically designed as to separate the new game from the lore of the original series. The game blends RPG, MechWarrior management and turn-based strategy to bring a unique playstyle to the already-established franchise.

Players will control four Mechs combat vehicles (referred to as a "mech lance"). The gameplay and rules are different from that of the original board game but the overall story is similar. Players will determine their mech's chassis, weapons, armor, and other details. They will also be able to further specialize the mechs through the use of the skill tree. During a mission, players will control multiple 'mechs including their own. Since the game is turn-based, players will need to determine the move of each pilot or alternately pass on the turn before it becomes the enemies turn to make similar decisions.

Before heading out into combat, players will want to be sure they have upgraded their BattleMechs and applied available skill points to their pilots. This is especially important in Campaign as each mission will be progressively harder than the last. An unprepared team will find themselves forced to forfeit the battle. Better to save damaged mechs than to lose them and injure the pilots.

Campaign is the story mode and it will teach the player how to use their BattleMech, upgrade their pilot's skills, and will task the player with missions to complete. The story itself is interesting as it involves the fall of House Arano after three peacefull generations of ruling the Reach and the loss of a kingdom to the usurper Victoria Espinosa and her father.

Skirmish mode is player vs player gameplay. Multiplayer allows the player to either host a skirmish or join someone elses Lance. Players can search through the available games to find a game that is in their preferred map and budget. The game channels are sorted by region. In single-player, the player takes their pre-defined Lance into battle against AI pilots. Players can change the difficulty by editing the opposing Lance and changing pilots and 'mechs.

The MechBay is available in the Single Player menu and can be used to create custom Lance and Mech sets. These can then be saved and loaded into single-player and multiplayer skirmishes. To access the MechBay in the Campaign mode, players will need to have unlocked access to one of the ships - either the Leopard or the Argo.

There are two ships used in the 2018 version of BattleTech. These are the Leopard and the Argo. The Leopard becomes available very early in the campaign and the Argo not long after. Both will require specific missions to be completed before the ships become available (Campaign Mode). Both ships offer minimal space for pilots and 'mechs but they can be upgraded to hold more. Players will use the ships to accept and prepare for missions.